Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema

1998 5.4 (7 votes) 1h 20m

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

BFI
Kwan's Creation Workshop

Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema (男生女相：華語電影之性別)

Overview

An exploration of Chinese cinema and its relationships with gender and sexuality, which the film argues has been more frankly and provocatively explored than in any other national cinema. Utilizing both film excerpts and interviews with many leading directors and academics, the film examines topics such as male bonding in kung fu movies, depictions of same-sex bonding and physical intimacy, the emphasis on women's grievances in melodramas, and the career of Yam Kim-Fai, a Hong Kong actress who spent her life portraying men on and off the screen.